This election should follow BBWAA rules, not Hall of Merit rules. However, we hope to see only players that each voter feels belong on their ballots. Leaving 1st-year candidates off your ballot is also frowned upon. IOW, we would like to see an absence of some of the silliness that permeates Hall of Fame voting by the writers.

The election will end Monday on Jan 5th 2015 (4 PM EST). Results will be posted a short time later.

Congratulations to the Class of 2015! Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling have been elected to the Hall of Merit.

The election was dominated by pitchers. In addition to the top 3, Mike Mussina was a strong 4th, followed closely by John Smoltz. Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa were 6th and 7th, both with enough support that their eventual election looks inevitable.

For 1960, each voter should rank their top 10 players from both leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EDT on 7 January 2015.

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 5 January 2015.

Going back to the first season of the American League because next year is the pre-integration committee vote.

No World Series yet so no postseason consideration. I could use help locating Negro Leaguers to consider. 1901 was really sketchy for Negro League statistics and even consistent barnstorming teams. The Cuban X Giants and Chicago Union Giants were active. I believe Frank Grant, Charlie Grant, Grant Johnson and Rube Foster are from this era.

Candidate Eligibility: Any North American professional baseball player is eligible for the Most Meritorious Player (MMP) award including players on independent teams. Voters should consider the player’s on-field contribution to Major League Baseball (MLB) team(s) in that season only. If part of the season was spent outside MLB, that value may be considered as well. However, the player’s on-field contribution should be judged in relation to the ...